ANU Research Publications

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/26

The Australian National University's Research Publications collection is an online location for collecting, preserving and disseminating the scholarly output of the University. This service allows members of the University to share their research with the wider community. ANU Open Research accepts journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, working or technical papers and other forms of scholarly communication.

FINDING WORKS: To find a work in this collection, enter a search term into the text box and click on Search or select one of the 'Browse by' options (Author, Title, Subject, Issue Date or Type).

CONTRIBUTING WORKS: If you have an item you wish to submit, please do so through the Contribute page.

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 139854

Access status: Metadata only ,
Adolescent health across Asia Pacific, 2000–23: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023
(2026) Cini, Karly I.; Dumuid, Dorothea; Abbsar, Iffat; Li, Luo; Priambodo, Diandra Amandita; A, Bhoomadevi; Abdullah, Muhammad Ahmed; Abdullah; Aboagye, Richard Gyan; Acharya, Swetha; Addo, Isaac Yeboah; Adegoke, Nurudeen A.; Adhikary, Ripon Kumar; Adiga, Usha; Adnan, Mohd; Adnani, Qorinah Estiningtyas Sakilah; Adonteng-Kissi, Obed; Afrifa-Yamoah, Ebenezer; Agung, Fransisca Handy; Ahmad, Aqeel; Ahmad, Khabir; Ahmad, Naved; Ahmad, Tauseef; Ahmed, Jahanzaib Mian; Ahmed, Mushood; Ahmed, Shahzaib; Akalanka, Kasuni H.M.; Akhtar, Muhammad Nadeem; Akosile, Wole; Al Hasan, Syed Mahfuz; Al Zaabi, Omar Ali Mohammed; Alam, Khurshid; Alam, Mohammad Khursheed; Alam, Mohammad Jahoor; Alhumaidi, Ashraf; Ali, Irfan; Ali, Mohammad Daud; Ali, Rafat; Aljunid, Syed Mohamed; Almazan, Joseph Uy; Al-Mekhlafi, Hesham M.; Ananda, Roshan A.; Anandakumar, Amutha; Anderlini, Deanna; Anderson, David B.; Annadurai, Kabilan; Ansari, Sumbul; Anyasodor, Anayochukwu Edward; Effendi, Diyan Ermawan; Kamal, Md Moustafa
Background: The Asia Pacific region is home to more than half of the world's 1·93 billion adolescents (aged 10–24 years). Addressing adolescent health in this region is of global importance, but to date a systematic analysis of key contributors to disease in adolescents has not been done, which is a barrier to responsive action. This systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2023 aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of adolescent health across the Asia Pacific region, at both the subregional and national levels, encompassing burden of disease, mortality, and prevalence of adolescent risk factors. Methods: As part of GBD 2023, we obtained estimates for cause-specific mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and risk factor prevalence by sex for adolescents aged 10–24 years and 5-year age groups (10–14 years, 15–19 years, and 20–24 years) across 44 countries and territories (hereafter referred to collectively as Asia Pacific), grouped by seven UN subregions, from 2000 to 2023. We extracted GBD 2023 population counts and estimates of number and rate (per 100 000 population) for mortality and disease burden (DALYs). Risk prevalence estimates were obtained directly from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and binge drinking estimates were sourced from WHO. Estimates are reported with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) where possible. UIs were estimated by running 250 draws of the posterior distribution, ordering the draws, and selecting the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles for each metric. Findings: In 2023, in adolescents across Asia Pacific, there were 637 496 deaths and a total disease burden of 115·8 million DALYs, representing 34·1% of global adolescent deaths and 40·6% of the global adolescent burden of disease. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs; particularly mental disorders) were the leading causes of disease burden and mortality (64·8% of DALYs and 43·9% of deaths). Unintentional and transport injuries were also leading causes of death (14·7% of deaths due to transport injury and 13·3% of deaths due to unintentional injury) and leading causes of disease burden particularly among males in south-eastern Asia. In Melanesia, Micronesia, and some parts of south-eastern Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste), respiratory infections and tuberculosis remained important contributors. Southern Asia had the largest reduction (1·5% per year) in all-cause DALYs over the study period, and Australia and New Zealand (0·2% per year) had the smallest, with females in Australia and New Zealand showing a slight increase contrary to regional trends. Eastern Asia had the largest reduction (2·8% per year) in all-cause mortality rate and Melanesia (0·8% per year) the smallest. Risk factors generally had between-subregion and within-subregion variation; however, some regional trends stood out, with overweight and obesity increasing in all countries across the region, and binge drinking increasing in more countries than not. In 2023, prevalence of smoking in males exceeded that in females in every country, from 40% difference in Timor-Leste to less than 1% difference in Australia. Anaemia prevalence is decreasing in all countries, but female prevalence was higher and reducing at a slower rate than in males. Bullying prevalence was slightly higher in Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia combined, Australia and New Zealand, and eastern Asia compared with southern and south-eastern Asian subregions. Interpretation: Several patterns were consistent across the region: the dominance of mental disorders and NCDs, the universal rise in overweight and obesity (particularly high in Oceanic countries but increasing rapidly in south and south-eastern Asia), and persistent sex-specific challenges across subregions: unintentional injuries and smoking in males, and anaemia in females. Actions to tackle shared risk factors (while accounting for context-specific local health profiles, workforce deficits, cultural factors, and health system capacity) should not be forgone due to local variation. Future research could focus on subnational variation, intersecting inequalities, and multi-sectoral interventions targeting shared risk factors. Priority actions should include regional investment in adolescent mental health services and obesity prevention, targeted injury reduction strategies for high-risk populations, and sex-specific approaches to smoking cessation and anaemia reduction, delivered through local health systems with the capacity and cultural responsiveness to meet local needs. Funding: Gates Foundation and Australian Government.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Extreme Heat as the New Normal: A Methodological Roadmap Incorporating Behavior, Physiology, and Species Distributions
(2026) Ellis-Soto, Diego; Noble, Daniel W.A.; Arnold, Pieter A.; Pottier, Patrice; Robey, Alison J.; Prokopenko, Christina; Cohen, Jeremy
Synopsis: A defining feature of climate change is the increasing frequency, intensity, and severity of extreme weather events. Among them, extreme heat is recognized as a critical driver of ecological and evolutionary change. Intense heat episodes can exceed physiological limits, alter animal movement, restructure geographic ranges, and increase extinction risk more than gradual changes to mean temperatures. Yet links between extreme heat events and organismal biology remain limited, in part because definitions and metrics are not standardized, and user-friendly workflows and guides are lacking for many biologists. We present a methodological roadmap, with reproducible code, for integrating extreme heat into studies of behavior, physiology, biophysical ecology, species distribution models (SDMs), and population dynamics. First, we provide standardized computational approaches to define and quantify extreme heat. Second, we fit SDMs for California quail (Callipepla californica) that include an extreme heat metric and showcase improved predictions of habitat suitability, particularly at range edges. Third, we compute biophysical simulations to quantify exposure to thermal stress in sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) across distinct macro- and microclimates. Finally, accounting for temporal autocorrelation in temperature profiles in population simulation models, we show that clustered heat extremes—missed by averages—can increase the risk of population collapse. As extreme heat events become more common, incorporating their dynamics is essential for understanding ecological and evolutionary change, designing experiments across species’ geographic ranges, and supporting conservation in a rapidly warming world. Together, these case studies illustrate a reproducible, organism-informed roadmap to integrate extreme heat into predictions of ecological impacts and inference across levels of biological organization under ongoing climate change.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Planning to Care: The United States in Comparative Perspective, 2000 to 2022
(2025-06-26) Sikora, Joanna; Jacobs, Jerry A.
Care work, both paid and unpaid, has drawn attention from feminist scholars and activists regarding its devaluation and the growing shortage of workers, especially after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The authors examine plans to enter care work among more than 1 million high school students in the United States and 29 comparison Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, using data from five waves of the Program for International Student Assessment surveys spanning the period from 2000 to 2022. The authors develop theoretically motivated research questions that guide an examination of trends and determinants of adolescent expectations to enter care work. This is the first large-scale longitudinal and comparative study to track youth intentions to pursue care work. A persistent gender gap is evident in both the United States and comparison countries, with young women far outpacing their male counterparts in plans to pursue care work. The authors also find two key mismatches. First, more students plan to pursue care-related professions than there are labor market opportunities in these fields. Second, care professions requiring college credentials are oversubscribed, while noncollege care roles attract little interest. Within care-work fields, interest in medically related care work in the United States increased over the period from 2000 to 2018, while interest in the pursuit of careers in teaching declined.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Rethinking the “Asian advantage”: socioeconomic rather than ethnic school composition affects HSC mathematics outcomes in New South Wales
(2026) Sikora, Joanna
Debates about the so-called “Asian educational advantage” require clarity on how the ethnic and socioeconomic makeup of schools affects student achievement. Using administrative data from the 2017 Higher School Certificate (HSC) cohort in New South Wales, two-level regression models differentiate between the effects of students’ personal backgrounds and those of the schools they attend. Indicators of ethnicity include the languages spoken at home by students and their parents, as well as students’ country of birth. The analysis demonstrates that students in schools with higher proportions of East-Asia-born peers tend to perform better in advanced HSC mathematics courses. However, this apparent ethnic advantage vanishes in schools with student populations of similar socioeconomic profiles. The findings illustrate that schools’ more advantaged socioeconomic compositions explain the higher performance often attributed to ethnically “Asian” schools. Potential implications of confounding school ethnic and socioeconomic profiles are discussed.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Strength in struggle: a personal reflection on women and nationhood in Papua New Guinea
(2025) Masta, Mercy
Access status: Metadata only ,
Dreaming Ecology: Reflections
(ANU Press, 2024) Jolly, Margaret
Access status: Metadata only ,
How developmental stressors affect mitochondrial respiratory function: a systematic review and meta-analysis
(2026) Crino, Ondi L.; Friesen, Christopher R.; Hill, Geoffrey E.; Leibold, Dalton C.; Recio, Pablo; Salin, Karine; Wild, Kristoffer H.; Noble, Daniel W.A.
The environmental conditions organisms experience during early development can have powerful and sustained effects on morphology, physiology, behaviour, and performance. Such developmental effects can influence reproductive success, survival, and life-history strategies and can be transmitted across generations (i.e. trans and intergenerational effects). In this way, developmental effects can be powerful drivers of evolutionary change. Given the developmental environment affects a range of phenotypic traits, it has been proposed that physiological responses to developmental conditions are modulated through cellular mechanisms that are shared across cell and tissue types, such as mitochondrial function. Mitochondrial respiratory function is highly sensitive to environmental conditions and exposure to adverse conditions during development can have sustained effects on different aspects of aerobic respiration in mitochondria. However, it is currently unknown if these effects are widespread across taxonomic groups and which components of mitochondrial respiratory function are most likely to be affected by the environment during development. We compiled data from 86 studies to examine the effects of developmental stressors (nutritional imbalance, glucocorticoid hormone exposure, parental care deprivation, and psychological disturbance) on mitochondrial respiratory function using meta-analysis. We sought to uncover whether there are general effects of developmental stressors on different aspects of mitochondrial respiratory function (antioxidants, metabolic capacity, oxidative damage, oxidative stress, and aerobic respiration). We tested how the type of developmental stressor, together with timing of exposure (prenatal versus postnatal), and sex and taxon of the test subjects influenced the magnitude, direction, and duration of effects on mitochondrial respiratory function. Finally, we tested which aspects of mitochondrial respiratory function were most impacted by developmental stressors. We found that exposure to glucocorticoids, parental care deprivation, and psychological disturbances during development generally decreased mitochondrial respiratory function. Generally, these developmental stressors increased the production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage and reduced aerobic respiration, metabolic capacity, and antioxidant levels. Nutritional imbalances during development (including both restricted and excessive nutrition) had a slight negative effect on mitochondrial respiratory function, but this effect may be influenced by publication bias. Overall, our results show that exposure to stressors during development negatively affects mitochondrial respiratory function, suggesting that changes in cellular metabolism may link developmental stressors to variation in whole animal traits and individual fitness.
Access status: Metadata only ,
A global meta-analysis of non-lethal mammal browsing control in forests
(2026) Grimsdale, James B.H.; Noble, Daniel W.A.; While, Geoffrey M.; Williams, Dean; O'Reilly-Wapstra, Julianne
Increasing resource demand, desire to sequester atmospheric carbon, and conservation goals are driving a need for forests to be managed more effectively in the face of numerous challenges. One such challenge is damage perpetrated by browsing mammals, which can cause substantial financial and ecological impacts. Current practices focus on lethal control measures for mitigating mammal browsing damage, however stakeholder pressure is calling for a transition to non-lethal alternatives. Little is known about the relative efficacy of different non-lethal control methods for mitigating browsing damage by mammals other than deer. Using a multilevel meta-analytical framework across 1,908 effect sizes, we investigate the relative efficacy and longevity of different non-lethal control methods implemented against a broad suite of browsing mammals across different spatial scales. We found that tree guards, repellents and exclusion fencing all significantly reduce mammal browsing damage and retain their effect for long periods. There was, however, substantial variation in efficacy within individual control strategies highlighting the importance to forest managers of selecting the correct method from within the broad strategies we identified. We then discuss other factors to consider when implementing non-lethal mammal browsing control so that forest managers are well informed when implementing a control strategy.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Struggle, reform, boom and bust: an economic history of Papua New Guinea since Independence
(ANU Press, 2025-07-01) Howes, Stephen; Davies, Martin; Fox, Rohan; Laveil, Maholopa; Pandey, Manoj; Sum, Dek Joe
Access status: Metadata only ,
Gesellschaftliche Kosten von Long COVID und ME/CFS
(Medizinische Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, 2026) McLennan, Amy
Access status: Metadata only ,
RADIO: How has a small island become the nation with the highest rate of obesity?
(BBC The Food Programme, 2024-01-29) McLennan, Amy
Consulting expert preparing the program with Producer Carys Wall (Bespoken Media), and interview with Sheila Dillon on the BBC World Food Programme, BBC Radio 4, 29 January.
Access status: Metadata only ,
RADIO: Obesity series: View from abroad
(BBC The World at One, 2023-07-28) McLennan, Amy
(2023) Obesity series: View from abroad. Interview with The World at One on BBC Radio 4, 28 July.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Teaching Ancient Australia
(History Teacher's Association of Victoria, 2024) Wright, Duncan; Johnston, Dave
Access status: Metadata only ,
Life cycle complexity drives variation in thermal tolerance and plasticity
(2026) Pottier, Patrice; Kellermann, Vanessa; Noble, Daniel WA; Sgrò, Carla M.; Terblanche, John S.; van Heerwaarden, Belinda
Accumulating evidence suggests that heat tolerance varies substantially across insect development, yet patterns of variation remain difficult to generalise across species. We discuss how the diversity of insect developmental strategies shapes both the intensity and predictability of thermal environments across ontogeny, and how this likely generates variation in heat tolerance, plasticity and carry-over effects. We hypothesise that large developmental variation is expected in holometabolous insects and in species undergoing pronounced microhabitat or diel activity transitions. These transitions can modify heat exposure, behavioural thermoregulatory abilities and the physiological or genetic regulatory network underlying heat tolerance, weakening correlations among life stages. We discuss when carry-over effects are likely to be adaptive, highlighting the importance of environmental predictability, ecological similarity among stages and the balance between heat injury and repair. We argue that an ontogenetic perspective capturing the microenvironmental conditions experienced by each life stage is essential for predicting insect vulnerability to extreme heat.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Touching Wires: tactility and a quilted musical interface for human-AI musical co-creation
(International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, 2025) Ma, Sandy; Martin, Charles Patrick
Interactions with computers have traditionally been mediated by rigid materials, but as technology evolves, there is increasing potential to rethink these relationships. This paper explores how a soft, textile-based interface can reshape human-AI interaction, particularly in musical co-creation. We introduce a textile-based human-AI system used both for musical performance and public interaction. This system enables embodied, tactile engagement with an AI agent, offering users a more unique and participatory experience in human-AI musical co-creation. We aim to examine the potential for soft materiality to mediate more dynamic human-AI interactions. Our findings reveal that users’ choices when interacting with novel systems are informed by their expectations and biases, that embodied learning is built iteratively on layered multi-sensory experiences, and that there is a desire for familiarity and understanding when interacting with AI systems. We found that the materiality of our textile human-AI interfaces influenced how users choose to interact, and that users sought clarity in the AI’s role in collaborative creation. This work contributes to our understanding of how entanglement, embodiment, and materiality impact our relationships in human-AI collaborations.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Exploring the Impact of Spatial Awareness on Large-Scale AR DMIs
(International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, 2025) Zhou, Qiance; Martin, Charles Patrick
Large-scale Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) offer immersive performance experiences and rich forms of expression, but often pose physical challenges and limit accessibility. The size of traditional large-scale DMIs limits the ability of performers to interact with the instrument, causing discomfort when engaging with distant components, highlighting the need for more flexible and user-friendly large-scale DMI designs. We present an Augmented Reality (AR) DMI that removes physical constraints by allowing performers to customise the size and layout of the instrument according to their performance environment. We aim to show how AR-based configuration supports immersive performance, promotes expressive gestures, and improves spatial awareness without sacrificing large-scale instrument capabilities. Our user study revealed increased physical engagement and spatial immersion, a strong sense of ownership, and a positive user experience. These findings indicate that our AR DMI is creatively empowering, reasonably addressing the constraints of large-scale instruments. Our research emphasises the potential of AR to enable flexible and customisable DMI design where interfaces can be adapted to suit the needs of individual performers.
Access status: Metadata only ,
The Game of Birth: Digital game development
(2025-07-23) Biedermann, Thomas A.J.
Curuni Pty Ltd has contracted the Australian National University (ANU), as represented by the ANU School of Cybernetics, to develop a fully functional prototype of “The Game of Birth” in digital format (the digital game). The prototype was iteratively specified and developed throughout June and July 2025.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Inferring Galactic parameters from chemical abundances with simulation-based inference
(2025-10-01) Buck, Tobias; Günes, Berkay; Viterbo, Giuseppe; Oliver, William H.; Buder, Sven
Context. Galactic chemical abundances provide crucial insights into fundamental galactic parameters, such as the high-mass slope of the initial mass function (IMF) and the normalization of Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) rates. Constraining these parameters is essential for advancing our understanding of stellar feedback, metal enrichment, and galaxy formation processes. However, traditional Bayesian inference techniques, such as Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC), are computationally prohibitive when applied to large datasets of modern stellar surveys. Aims. We leverage simulation-based-inference (SBI) as a scalable, robust, and efficient method for constraining galactic parameters from stellar chemical abundances and demonstrate its advantages over HMC in terms of speed, scalability, and robustness against model misspecifications. Methods. We combine a Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) model, CHEMPY, with a neural network emulator and a neural posterior estimator (NPE) to train our SBI pipeline. Mock datasets are generated using CHEMPY, including scenarios with mismatched nucleosynthetic yields, with additional tests conducted on data from a simulated Milky Way-like galaxy. SBI results are benchmarked against HMC-based inference, focusing on computational performance, accuracy, and resilience to systematic discrepancies. Results. SBI achieves a ~75 600× speed-up compared to HMC, reducing inference runtime from ≳42 hours to mere seconds for thousands of stars. Inference on 1000 stars yields precise estimates for the IMF slope (α IMF = −2.299 ± 0.002) and SN Ia normalization (log10(N Ia) = −2.887 ± 0.003), deviating less than 0.05% from the ground truth. SBI also demonstrates similar robustness to model misspecification than HMC, recovering accurate parameters even with alternate yield tables or data from a cosmological simulation. Conclusions. SBI represents a paradigm shift in GCE studies, enabling efficient and precise analysis of massive stellar datasets. By outperforming HMC in speed, scalability, and robustness, SBI is poised to become a cornerstone methodology for future spectroscopic surveys facilitating deeper insights into the chemical and dynamical evolution of galaxies.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Systemic regulation of the private healthcare sector is needed to ensure patient accessibility is not limited by out-of-pocket costs
(2026) Looi, Jeffrey C.L.; Allison, Stephen; Bastiampillai, Tarun; Kisely, Steve; Liu, Wai Man
The viability of the Australian private healthcare sector, and hence, private psychiatric care, is determined by a range of complex, inter-related factors. The private health insurance industry and Medicare reimbursement partially underwrite the costs of procedures, private hospital care and some allied healthcare. Psychiatric hospital cover sits almost entirely within the most expensive private health insurance Gold tier cover. Private outpatient fees are set by medical specialists, and patients receive a Medicare reimbursement for these consultations. There has been increasing concern regarding out-of-pocket costs for patients accessing private psychiatric hospital and outpatient care. A substantial 15% of all health expenditure in Australia is paid directly by individuals as out-of-pocket costs – almost double the share contributed by private health insurers. It is estimated that 72% of these out-of-pocket costs is attributable to individual-physician fee variation. Instead of focussing on providers or payors, a systemic private healthcare regulatory approach is needed to address the overall costs issue.
Access status: Metadata only ,
Yoga's Material Power: Yoga Pants in Twenty First–Century Imaginaries
(2026) Black, Shameem
This article investigates the cultural politics of the yoga pant to show how a popular US fashion item has recalibrated new meanings for a South Asian religo-philosophical practice. In twenty first–century US discourse, the yoga pant appears in cultural spaces as diverse as textile design, mom fiction, and music video. Drawing on feminist materialisms, I analyze representations of the yoga pant to track its journey through transnational circuits of power. I propose the dialectical concept of surfacing, understood as a drive towards flatness that also exposes depth, to analyze the contradictory work that the yoga pant can perform. The yoga pant enmshes the postural practice of yoga within industrial textile engineering, contributes to gendered body discipline, and often occludes yoga's South Asian dimensions. Yet the yoga pant can also support visions of radical freedom from gendered and racialized hierarchies. The active materiality of this fashion item sheds new light on how the practice of yoga participates in twenty first–century projects of constraint and liberation.

Cultural advice

Browse

Recent Submissions